“We were so proud of him, and he was so proud to put on that uniform,” said Lori Segal, who is Jared Segal’s mother. “Whenever someone would call in sick, Jared was the first one they would call, and he would always take their shift.”

But on Dec. 18, Jared Segal didn’t come home from work.

“We got a voicemail from a Jupiter police officer saying Jared had been arrested for embezzlement and grand larceny,” Lori Segal said.

Jared Segal had been accepting customers’ coupons since October. Officials said he shouldn't have accepted the coupons and improperly discounted items.

Officials said the invalid coupons cost the store about $1,000.

Petco called Jupiter police, and Jared Segal was arrested at work. His parents said it was an honest mistake, but Petco considered it fraud.

Jared Segal spent the night in jail, and his parents said when they picked him up the next morning he had chewed his shirt to shreds because of anxiety.

"When we got him to the car, (we saw) an emotion we have not ever seen in Jared, inconsolable hysteria,” Lori Segal said.

Charges were later dropped against Jared Segal, but his parents said they're not satisfied. They posted his story on Facebook and it has gone viral.

A Petco representative said they had no knowledge whatsoever that Jared Segal had any special needs, and they were simply following company protocol after discovering a loss of more than $100.

However, Jared Segal’s parents said local store managers knew he was autistic, and that they had registered their son with the Jupiter Police Department as being autistic.

“This is the crime of the century, coupon theft,” Lori Segal said. ”To have him arrested? Shame on the police department. Shame on Petco corporate. His record has been expunged, and on paper, it’s over. But for Jared, for us, it’s far from over.”

Jupiter police did not return calls seeking comment.

Petco released the following written statement:

"We were troubled to hear of this story and are continuing our investigation to determine the full details of the incident. At Petco, the health and safety of people, our partners and pets is always top priority. As such, there are protocols in place to provide reasonable accommodations for partners with special needs, which starts with providing employees the opportunity upon hiring or at any point in their time working with Petco to identify themselves as requiring accommodation for special needs. In this case, Petco was unaware that the employee required any accommodation.

"Petco refers theft (or loss) incidents that value over $100 to local authorities for review. In this instance, after the employee admitted to improperly discounting merchandise, Petco followed protocol and alerted the local police. After reviewing the information, the police made a determination to proceed using their individual guidelines. Once the matter is referred to the police, Petco is no longer actively engaged in any decisions made related to the incident.

"At Petco, we seek to hire a variety of individuals who are passionate about animals and aim to create an inclusive environment, where opportunities exist for all employees. We are extremely sensitive to providing reasonable accommodations to those employees who require it. As part of our investigation, we have attempted to reach out to the former employee to discuss the matter further, but have been unsuccessful thus far."